The Wicked Things We Do
by Dark Fury 13
Summary: Rhysand tried to forget about the human girl he met at Calanmai, tried but failed. Her beautiful face haunted his dreams and every waking hour until he could no longer resist the urge to see her again. Risking every deception he'd carefully constructed over the past fifty years, he sets out to find her only to learn she is in love with one of his greatest enemies.
1. Chapter 1

**Thanks for taking the time to read my story. As always, I'm just playing with the wonderful characters Sarah Maas created. Please let me know your thoughts on the story as I am trying to decide if I should leave it as is or add more chapters...:)**

The Wicked Things We Do

Rhysand

"Tell me again," Amarantha purred, fingers tracing lazy circles along my abdomen, and after years of practice the alluring smile I graced her with came effortlessly. "I do so love the part about the tattoo." Her fingers trailed lower, eliciting a low moan from me. How I managed it day after day, year after year, I couldn't even begin to fathom, and yet she somehow believed it was real. "Ah, ah, ah…not until you tell me what I want to hear."

"It was a head on a spike. Nothing you haven't seen hundreds of times before." My callous tone brought a smile to her face. "Your High Lord was terrified as was his golden-eyed lackey. Why you would waste your time on him defies logic."

"You're jealous," she murmured, her red painted lips crushing mine before I could respond. As the kiss deepened, I envisioned slicing her wide open with an Illyrian sword. I could almost taste the blood spilling out of her to soak into the mattress and drip onto the earthen floor. Cutting her open from breastbone to navel was one of many ways I considered killing her. "You needn't worry, Rhysand, I am not bored with you yet. His presence Under the Mountain will not change our arrangement."

I lifted a brow. "Would you have us both at the same time?" Killing both my enemies at one time just might make all the years trapped Under the Mountain worthwhile. "I'm not sure he would agree to it, but if the idea pleases you, I am more than willing to oblige."

"To see the two of you taking out your rage against each other in bed is tempting." She let out a low husky laugh, exposing her jugular, and if I had a knife, I'd plunge it into her throat. "Unfortunately for you, I do not plan on sharing him with anyone." She rolled over, and hung her feet off the side of the bed. Slipping on her silk bathrobe, she cinched it at her narrow waist. "You did your job well – breaking through his wards with ease, killing a male on his lands, and spiking the head so close to the manor. That was impressive, Rhysand."

"Why do you sound so surprised?" I shifted onto my side, giving her a good view of my lean, hard body, and propped my head up on my fist, my face a portrait of casual indifference. "I've done much worse for your pleasure."

"Yes, you have." Her eyes raked over my naked body, hunger igniting within their ebony depths. I hated her eyes and the way they devoured me, but if I could keep those hideous orbs on me even for the shortest stretches of time, it kept her from having me harm innocent Fae. "Tamlin's freedom is almost at an end." Dragging her gaze away from me, she stood and set to pacing on thick fur rug beside the bed. "I gave him an impossible task to break the curse, but there is always a chance he could have found a human to fall in love with him."

"If you wish it, I will go to the Spring Court and find out if he's had any luck in his pursuit to find a human woman foolish enough to fall in love with him." Annoyance crept into my tone to hide my eagerness to return to the Spring Court in hopes of seeing the human woman I'd met at Calanmai again. Nothing would come of it even if I did find her, but that didn't stop me from thinking about her. "If he has by some miracle found a woman who can tolerate him enough to open her heart to him, I will carve out that heart and bring it back to you."

"If you do find a human woman living on his lands, I want you to force him to watch you carve out her heart to put an end to his foolish quest to break the curse."

I almost felt sorry for Tamlin, almost but not quite. My hatred for him ran much too deep, the memory of my mother and sister's deaths spurring me on to make his life a living hell, and I could think of no better punishment than for him to live out his remaining days as Amarantha's plaything. Fate had been a real bitch in that concern, making him the only chance every Fae in Prythian had for freedom from Amarantha.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." With a mere thought, I covered my naked body in black pants, and a black tunic brocaded with gold and silver. "Do I have your permission to leave the mountain to check on Tamlin?"

"Yes, you may go." She waved a hand dismissively, but as I got up to leave her private chambers, she added, "I know how much you enjoy dragging out the kill to elicit screams of excruciating pain from your prey – do not take all day. I have other tasks I need you to do."

"Quick and brutal." I nodded, a false smile pulling at my lips. She liked me to drag out the deaths of anyone who displeased her, forcing me to enter my victims' minds to shield them from the pain while having them scream for her benefit. I kept that secret to myself along with so many others, earning myself the hatred and scorn of every Fae trapped Under the Mountain. For not being able to stop her, for not being able to free them from her reign, I deserved nothing less than their absolute hatred of me. "Not my style, but if that is what you wish, I would be more than happy to kill her quickly."

XxXxXx

I spent more time than I should have searching for the pretty human with blue-gray eyes and golden-brown hair, the morning wasted leaving me with little time to perform the task I'd been sent to do. If I hadn't dreamt about her the night before, if the dream of finding her and convincing her to run away with me hadn't felt so real, I never would have risked the added time only to feel crushing disappointment.

Why she became such a fascination to me after only meeting her once, I couldn't begin to fathom. Not that anything would come of it. Her and her kind would be either wiped off the face of the earth or would become slaves serving the likes of Amarantha and Hybern. Soon enough Hybern's forces would sweep through Prythian, killing any Fae who escaped living Under the Mountain, and for all my power there would be nothing I could do to stop it. If I could find a way to bring her to Velaris – no, I couldn't risk Amarantha finding out about the one place I'd protected before my power became hers to command. My family – everyone I loved and cared about resided within that hidden jewel, and I would do horrible things to keep them safe. No, not would do, I had done horrible things to keep them safe.

I wished I hadn't noticed the extra setting at the table where Tamlin remained seated. It never once occurred to me that the woman I met at Calanmai might be residing in his home or Cauldron forbid, she might have fallen in love with the High Lord of Spring. The clever fox tried to outsmart me, tried to glamour her to hide her from me. If only Tamlin had added the strength of his power behind Lucien's I might not have broken through, might not have found the woman I was looking for living amongst my enemies.

I swept into her mind with an ease that sent shivers of dread racing down my spine. Her erotic thoughts of Tamlin staggered me, not that they sensed it. I played the cruel High Lord to perfection, taunting Tamlin until he crumbled, dropping to the ground and lowering his head to the floor to beg me not to tell Amarantha about her. I'd been sent to kill her, and as her romantic musing about his teeth on her breast played in my mind, I almost struck her down, the need to shatter those thoughts of hers almost overwhelming me.

I couldn't do it. I told myself that it was because her love for him might be the only thing that could save the Fae trapped Under the Mountain, and that in and of itself was enough to keep her alive and breathing, but the truth far more complex for me to dwell on while in the home of my enemy.

Why I chose to ask her name, I'd never know. Having a name to match with a face when I thought about her, which I had no doubt I would, was a reckless mistake on my part. Clare Beddor. It was a lie, one I chose not to call her on. Even if I wanted to keep her a secret from Amarantha, I wouldn't be able to, and if asked, I would willingly supply the name she made up. If he was smart, Tamlin would send her home, and that would be the end of it. Amarantha's search for Clare Beddor would be in vain, and I wouldn't have to watch as she was murdered in front of Tamlin's eyes. Or worse still, I would be the one who killed her as he begged for her life.

Having done my part to scare him into forcing her to return to the other side of the Wall, I vanished, but with the promise I'd made to Amarantha weighing heavily on my mind, I reappeared within walking distance of the mountain. The talons hidden within each of my fingers slid out from beneath my skin, and I clawed into my face, chest, and arms, hissing through the pain. Reaching behind my back, I clawed into the skin there as well, tearing through the fabric of my tunic, and used a glamour to extent the wounds upward. Blood spilled down my face adding to the blood soaking through my torn tunic – a warning from the beastly High Lord of the Spring Court not to enter his lands again. She would be angry that I failed in my task while at the same time equally pleased that I had been beaten by the male she loved. No, not love. She was incapable of loving anyone. She coveted him, wanting him as a prize to sit beside her as she reigned over Prythian.

With my wounds already starting to heal, I stumbled forward toward the entrance of the mountain. It was the first time in almost fifty years that I'd actively went against Amarantha's orders, and it felt good. Maybe I would never be free from Under the Mountain, maybe I would spend the rest of my life as her whore and assassin, but I promised myself I would always remember and be thankful to the girl who gave me the courage to defy the bitch who'd taken everything from me.

XxXxXx

"What do you see when you upon that wall over there?" Amarantha asked, closely studying the wall in her private chambers that was littered with an array of magnificent Illyrian wings and one shorter pair of blue ones that looked sorely out of place. She glanced over her shoulder at me awaiting a response. No, not just a response, she wanted me to tell her it would look beautiful if only there were more pairs of wings in her collection. "Do you feel as if something's missing?"

"A nude portrait of myself perhaps?" One of the two healers tending to my injuries bit down hard on her pale lower lip to keep from laughing. Blood stained her lips, dribbling down her chin. She didn't make a sound, not a whisper as tears welled in her green eyes. I lifted a hand to wipe away the blood with my thumb, recalled any kindness I showed would turn to violence against the healer, and let my arm fall loosely to my side. "If there is an artist amongst the rabble, I'd gladly pose for a painting to grace your walls."

"You promised me more wings, Rhysand," she hissed, the ground beneath our feet trembling with her anger. "Just as you promised me you'd bring me the heart of any human woman who would dare to fall in love with Tamlin."

"A cornered beast will strike." I shrugged unconcernedly. "If it's any consolation, the woman saw him for the vile creature he is, and the last I saw of her she was running toward the Wall. I promise you she won't return, Amarantha."

"Your promises are as useless to me as you are." She glanced at the wall again, ticking off the number of paired wings. "Did you find out where the girl lived?"

"It wasn't as if we sat and chatted while drinking tea and eating pastries," I said, catching the healer's eye and touching my fingers to my chin in an attempt to get her to wipe away the blood dripping from her mouth. She meekly complied, wiping away the blood now staining her hands onto her plain black dress. "Her name is Clare Beddor – that is all I know."

"Clare Beddor," she repeated, ebony eyes falling to me once more. "I want more wings to add to my collection, Rhysand. The Illyrians in my employ are certain you know where they are hiding. Are they lying or is it you who is keeping secrets from me?"

"I haven't returned to the Night Court in almost fifty years, your majesty." I shooed the healers away, tired of sitting still for them to do their work. They looked to Amarantha, waiting for her say so before scurrying out of the queen's chambers, quietly shutting the door behind them. "If you let me travel to the Illyrian Mountains, your walls would be overflowing with wings."

Her gaze held mine, and I allowed her to enter the mind to see only what I wanted her to see, keeping my secrets locked up tight within the furthest niches of my mind. Satisfied that I was her loyal subject, she released her hold on my mind, and wrapping her arms around my shoulders, she brushed her lips against mine. "He will not escape me this time. Only two more days and he will have to come to me."

"He will," I murmured against her lips, hoping against hope that Tamlin wouldn't stubbornly dig his heels in and keep the human woman with him. If he did and she claimed she loved him, she would die, and he would still lose to Amarantha – the Fae Under the Mountain would lose. It hadn't escaped my knowledge that in scaring Tamlin into sending her away, I'd ruined the only chance for freedom the Fae trapped Under the Mountain had left. I didn't want her to die; it was as simple and complicated as that. "In two days you'll have everything you've ever wanted."

I'd given up any chance at freedom I might have had for a woman who'd lied to me about her name.

I didn't regret it….


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for taking the time to read my story. Please let me know what you think ;)**

Chapter Two

The wings of Illyrians, of males I'd fought alongside of during the war, brutally cut off by warriors who had betrayed their brothers. Those were the first thing I saw every morning when I woke up tangled in Amrantha's arms. I counted them one by one, seeing faces to match each set of wings, but the truth was that I had no idea who they belonged to. All I knew was that they'd tried to take a stand against Amarantha and were cut down for their efforts by traitors of the Night Court. I'd long ago promised myself I'd avenge those deaths when I was free of her, if I was ever free.

It would never happen now, I'd made sure of that when I scared away the woman from my dreams – or at least I hoped I did. To make certain she wasn't there, I offered up my services yet again to go and ransack the manor to find any Fae trying to hide when we brought Tamlin Under the Mountain. If I'd found her I would have winnowed her to the other side of the Wall and warned her not to come back. She wasn't there and neither was half of his court. He'd either sent them away or shielded them from being detected by me. I let it go, I let it slide that even now he defied her. It was enough to know that he would finally suffer along with the rest of us trapped Under the Mountain, and maybe, just maybe her entire attention would divert to him leaving me free to try and free everyone.

His court, or what remained of it, filed into the throne room with him leading the way. The Fae gathered to witness his arrival, parted down the center as they paraded by in the light and airy colors of Spring. Lucien came to stand at his side as he stopped in front of the raised dais where two thrones sat perched. The first throne, larger and more ornate, belonged to her, and the second belonged to him – her king.

"Come," Amarantha purred, ebony eyes gleaming in the faelight, patting the armrest of the second throne, "sit beside me, Tamlin."

He didn't move, didn't so much as speak a word. He looked from her to me standing at her side with my hand resting on the edge of the backrest of her throne. _Traitor. Whore._ Those were the two words playing over and over inside his head as he held my gaze for several long moments. A feline smile gracing my face, I sketched a mock bow and the other High Fae followed suit, grumbling under their breath about having to bow to him.

Still he stood frozen, unwilling to take those last few steps up the dais to claim his throne. A murmur went through the crowd at his outright defiance of the queen they'd come to fear. One of her red-faced guards jabbed him in the back with an ash spear, not hard enough to break the skin and spoil the merchandise, but as a warning not to defy Amarantha again.

"I let you run and play for forty-nine years and this is the gratitude you show me?" she said, a cat toying with its prey. If he was smart, he would have forced his legs to move those last few steps, would have taken a seat beside her to look down at the Fae who'd suffered at her hands while he was free to roam. He wasn't smart. He stayed where he stood mocking her with his deafening silence. "Rhysand…."

That one word, an order I couldn't refuse. Slipping into Lucien's mind, easily breaking through the barriers he'd created to protect himself against me, i gripped tight. His knees buckled, legs turning stringy, and he dropped to the ground, his head colliding with the hard earthen ground. "Sit beside your queen, Tamlin," I ordered in a tone meant to brook no argument. "Sit or I will crush his mind and then move on to someone else you care about."

Tamlin's eyes slid to Lucien trembling on the ground, blood leaking from beneath his golden fox mask. His eyes returned to me his one-time friend now enemy. The beast hidden beneath the beauty roared for release, the need to shred me to pieces almost his undoing, and yet he somehow managed to keep the hideous monster contained within himself and smiled a brittle smile at me. His green eyes settled on Amarantha. "While I may sit beside you to spare the lives of those from my court, I will never fuck you, I will never speak to you, and I will never as long as I breathe bow down to you."

"Tamlin," I growled, knowing that it would not be him who suffered for his utter act of defiance. It would be me or any number of Fae who'd secretly hoped he would someday free us. "You will not talk to your queen that way. Apologize or your friend will die."

"I will not apologize," he said with a curt shake of his head, finally moving up the steps to take a seat beside her. "If you kill my people, what reason would I have left for complying with any of your wishes?"

"You would have me believe you have nothing to lose," Amarantha purred, resting her hand atop his, clawed nails digging into the flesh of his knuckles. "What about Clare Beddor?"

The name struck a chord, but not for the not for the reason Amarantha believed it would. He tilted his head to look beyond her and up at me. "I have no idea who you are talking about." And that was the truth because the name was a lie made up by a clever human girl. "If you don't believe me, ask your whore to look into my mind to ferret out the truth."

"Rhysand," another command by the hated queen, one I pretended to carry out. If I slipped into his mind I would learn her true name, and that was something I could not do. "He's protecting her, this human filth he's fascinated with. As long as he fears for her life, he will forever be your willing lover."

"Well, there you have it." Amarantha grinned, sharpened teeth exposed with predatory glee. As long as he believed the woman he loved was in danger, it didn't need to be the right name or even a real person. The lie made real by the mention of a false name would keep him in line. "Release him," she added, gesturing to Lucien with a wave of her hand, and I eagerly complied, smirking as the fox cursed at me. "It is much too dull in here." With that said, music began to play, echoing off the dark rocky walls. "Dance with me, Tamlin." She stood and held out her hand to him, and after a long moment of debate, he grasped hold of it.

With her attention diverted, it left me free to drink myself into a stupor in hopes of passing out into a blackened void where no dreams could lighten the darkness. Needing to keep my wits sharp to deal with Amarantha, I hadn't imbibed in even a drop of alcohol since that first night trapped Under the Mountain. While the rest of the Fae overindulged when given the chance, I turned any drink given to me into juice. Not tonight though. I indulged in far too much drugged wine to dull the pain of every horrible thing I'd done for Amarantha. I drank to forget about the pretty human girl with sun-kissed honey-brown hair and full kissable lips. And I drank to forget about the friends I would never see again. _Cassian, Azriel, Mor, and Amren. _Their faces came to me in a drunken haze, each one whispering for me not to give up hope, but there was no hope left for me.

Not even my dreams were on my side as they played out in my head. Why did I need to see the human girl dreaming and lamenting over my enemy? Heartbroken, wanting to return to him, I could only pray to the Cauldron that she would heed the warning I pushed into her dreams to stay away, to pack up and move as far away from the Wall as possible.

I startled awake, head throbbing, disoriented, and tangled up in the arms of a female I didn't know. Rubbing at my temples, I blinked several times, willing the small bedroom to come into focus, and that was when I realized there wasn't just one female in the bed with me. A dark-haired female lay curled up to my left and a blond on the right. The blond-haired beauty's shapely leg was wrapped around my lower torso, her arm hugged tight around my chest, making it almost impossible to slip out of the bed without waking one if not both of them. Amarantha would be furious if she knew I'd slept with someone other than her. It wouldn't be me she took her anger out on. No, she'd have me murder both girls for daring to touch what belonged to her. That left me with only one option. I winnowed out of the bedroom and reappeared a few seconds later in my own room. Naked. In my hurry to leave, I'd left behind my clothes.

I didn't have time to consider how to get my clothes back much less come up with a believable excuse as to where I'd been all night. One second I was alone and the next Amarantha was standing in front of me. Her eyes trailed downward taking in every muscle and curve of my body, and a seductive smile curled on her red-painted lips.

"I take it that Tamlin isn't a very skillful lover if you've already left him to search me out," I drawled, and within a blink pants and a black tunic clothed my body. The very last thing I wanted to do was to bed her after Tamlin. Her smile stayed in place, and I wished more than anything that I had a knife to carve a permanent frown on her face. "How may I serve you, my queen?"

"You put on quite a show last night." With a snap of her fingers, fire burst to life in the fireplace to illuminate the bed that I hadn't slept in. Her gaze traveled to the neatly made bed, lingered there several moments, and then returned to me. "I wanted you to know I've sent out my guards to find Clare Beddor and bring her to me." My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach, and yet my face remained neutral, not a trace of the fear welling up inside of me. "As long as this girl is alive, Tamlin will pine for her. Once she is dead he will come to realize I am the only female for him."

"You should have sent me instead." Forcing myself to lightly caress her cheek, I leaned in and brushed my lips against her. "I failed you, Amarantha. If Tamlin hadn't caught me unaware, I would have killed her. Let me find her and bring her to you."

"No," she patted my cheek, "I have other tasks for you to perform. Two enemy spies have been captured, and I need you to find out everything they know."

"You want me to kill them." It wasn't a question, just more of the same. For nearly fifty years I'd been killing her enemies, turning their minds to molten lava after extracting every bit of information from them, and now she wanted me to show Tamlin in stark clarity what kind of male I'd become.

"Of course I want you to kill them," she said in a gleeful tone that rubbed my nerves raw. "We must show our newest guests what happens to those who defy me. Then perhaps Tamlin will rethink his stubbornness if he fears for the lives of his people."

"He wouldn't sleep with you." Again, not a question, and I hated Tamlin all the more for it. I wanted my enemy to know what it felt like to have no other choice but to give in and play the role Amarantha had chosen for him. I wanted him to suffer as I had suffered. I wanted him to wish for a death all-the-while waiting for a miracle that would never come. I prayed he would know what it felt like to do horribly wicked things to keep his loved ones safe from her. "Once the girl is gone, he will submit to you in every way possible."

"That is my thought as well," she said, patting me on the cheek again as if I was a dog that pleased her. "The spies are strung up in the throne room awaiting our arrival," she went on to say, and with a wave of her hand, her sheer black nightgown transformed into a flowing green gown encrusted with emeralds along the plunging neckline. An emerald crown shaped like the whorls of leaves sat nestled atop her fiery red hair, and I had no doubt Tamlin would be similarly dressed for the occasion. "When your job is finished, you will join me in my private chambers to celebrate."

"I look forward to it…."

**Author's note: It's my belief that Rhysand has a tremendous amount of guilt over what happened Under the Mountain which only briefly touched upon when he's telling Feyre about his time as Amarantha's whore. He stated that he killed her enemies and was glad to do it so he must have been pretty messed up in the head at the time, and yet it's never really brought up or dealt with in a meaningful way. So I started thinking about his time Under the Mountain, and this was what came to me...**


	3. Chapter 3

**thanks for taking the time to read my story. Please let me know your thoughts as it means a lot to me. :)**

Chapter Three

Why I ever assumed life would be easier for me if Tamlin was trapped Under the Mountain along with all the rest of us, I couldn't begin to fathom, and I was most definitely wrong. Every silent refusal he made toward her advances only served to make it harder on every other Fae including members of his own court. If he thought she would tire of the game of trying to bend him to her will, he was dumber than I thought. In the end she would break him as she'd broken me, and I couldn't even find it within myself to rejoice at the thought of my enemy's suffering. Not when it meant I would never see Velaris or my family again.

She never uttered a word in anger over his nightly refusals to share her bed, choosing instead to take out her rage on my skin. She'd always enjoyed rougher sex, I'd learned that almost from the onset of my captivity, but since he came to live Under the Mountain, she'd taken to clawing up my flesh leaving deep bloody trails behind. Every morning the black silk sheets were stiff with dried blood, and looking upon the damage she'd done to my skin, she'd smile sweetly and tell me how much I pleased her in bed the night before. In return I would mumble something along the lines of how it was a pleasure to serve her while I envisioned sawing off her head with slow torturous precision. I'd keep it locked away as a trophy and as a reminder to use on nights when nightmares of her cruelty drove me from my bed.

Maybe there wasn't anything I could do about Amarantha, but I could use Tamlin's fears to make him more compliant. With that thought I slipped out of bed, wincing at the stretch of bruises and claw marks trailing down my back. She didn't like the wounds she caused to heal quickly and so they didn't. Clothes materialized on my naked body as I headed toward the door adjoining Tamlin and Amarantha's private chambers, concealing beneath them the true extent of her anger at being denied her prize.

He didn't notice me at first, didn't hear the door whisper open and shut behind me, giving me a chance to study the male I despised almost as much as Amarantha. A thick metal cuff circled one of his ankles, the long chain draping over the side of the bed then trailed along the earthen floor to a spike in the ground. He could move about the room, but the magic imbued into the metal kept him from breaking free to leave. No, he only left his private accommodations whenever Amarantha felt the need to parade him around as her pet. If he suffered for his outright defiance of the queen, it was hidden as my pain was hidden, and looking him over as he remained lost in thought, I had no doubt he hadn't been left untouched by her.

Good, he deserved much worse for failing to protect my mother and sister from his father and brothers. I cleared my throat to garner his attention and broke through the trance he'd fallen under. He likely was thinking about the human he'd chased away to the damnation of his own people. He saved her and for that I was grateful, but not enough to forgive him for past offenses.

"What do you want, Rhysand?" he grumbled as he remained seated on the king-sized bed, his leg casually bent the other stretched out, and yet I felt the shift in his demeanor from quietly contemplative to alert and wary. "If Amarantha sent you to –"

"I thought you would want to know that she has decided that two of your sentries are spies," I cut in, picking an imaginary piece of lint off my tunic. It was a lie that could quickly become the truth if the need arose. I didn't care if he had to fantasize about his human lover the entire time he made love to Amarantha, what I did care about was saving anyone else from her wrath. It was his turn to suffer as we had suffered for forty-nine years. "I imagine there will be two more tomorrow and the day after that as well. I know you're dull-witted, but do you see where I am going with this?"

His green eyes sparked with fury, but he remained where he sat knowing he couldn't beat me. "You would frame innocent Fae, you'd let them be brutally tortured because of your hatred toward me?"

"I will do what I need to do to please my queen." I shrugged, feigning indifference. For the safety and protection of those trapped under her rule for decades, I would be the vicious villain I needed to be to get him to buckle. "You lost, Tamlin, and now you have only one choice and that is to accept your duties as Amarantha's cohort. If she is not pleased by you then I am not pleased, and you don't want to give me cause to harm any of your people. I will do it without thought or concern of the family they will leave behind, and it will be your fault."

A low growl rumbling in his throat, he slid off the bed and stalked toward me, the chain around his ankle rattling against the floor. "What assurances do I have that if I do play at being the queen's willing plaything, my people will be left unscathed?"

"You have my word that no harm will come to your people if you submit yourself completely to Amarantha."

He laughed derisively, sharpened claws punching out from beneath his knuckles. "Your word means nothing to me."

"Be careful," I warned, tucking my hands into the pockets sewn into the tunic. "I wouldn't want to have slip into your mind to force you to claw out your own eyes, but I will." My gaze slid to his hands waiting for him to sheath them beneath the skin once more. "You don't need to see to make love to her or to sit on a throne," I added in a low menacing tone meant to brook no argument, and grudgingly slow he complied. "Damn, I was hoping you would resist. It would have made my decade to watch you claw out your own eyes."

"When I had heard you switched sides," he said, turning his back on me in a show of courage, "I didn't want to believe it. The Rhysand I once knew wouldn't have turned on his own people the way you have. Cocky and arrogant, sure, but not a traitor – never a traitor." He shifted back to face me, eyes narrowing as he held my gaze. "You know who I've failed to see in her throne room even once? Those two friends of yours, the ones you asked to help train me to fight. What were their names again." Tapping at his lips, he smiled. "Ahhh…yes, Cassian and Azriel." His smile widened. "Don't threaten my people when you have secrets of your own that will come to light if any harm comes to me."

"You're forgetting that I could easily pluck those memories from your mind along with anyone else who knows about them," I reminded him, sorely tempted to wipe his memory of everyone and everything he ever knew and loved, leaving him a blank slate for Amarantha to toy with.

"You could," he agreed with a curt nod, "but you won't because you want me to remember the reason why you hate me so much. If you remove Cassian and Azriel from my memory all those memories surrounding them will crumble. Your mother and sister's deaths will mean nothing to me, and you want to feel the guilt for their lost lives."

"Two of your sentries will die today," I gritted out, unable to refute the fact that I did want him to remember what happened to my mother and sister because of him. If he was going to tell Amarantha about my brothers he would have already done so to watch me squirm. He hadn't, and for as much as he might have wanted to, he wouldn't. "Invite her into your bed tonight and no one will die tomorrow."

"And if I refuse?"

"Then three of your sentries will die tomorrow and four the next day. You will learn very quickly that I am not the same male I once was back when I was foolish enough to befriend a beast from another court."

"Spare their lives and I will comply," he said after a lengthy pause.

"No." I shook my head, needing him to understand that Under the Mountain Amarantha's rule was absolute and punishment for failure to submit to her was swift and brutal. "Consider yourself lucky, Tamlin. Over half of my court was slaughtered within hours of her rise to power. Had you been less stubborn it wouldn't have been necessary, but you weren't and it is."

He opened his mouth to argue for the lives of his sentries, and snapped it shut as the door swung open and Amarantha sauntered into the room dressed in a flowing white dress encrusted with diamonds. "Good, you are both here." Her ebony eyes settled on me and the ground beneath us trembled. "You'll be pleasantly surprised to hear that my guards have captured Clare Beddor and are at this moment bringing her to my throne room."

The color drained from Tamlin's face, and my heart sunk to the pit of my stomach. The girl had lied, I could have sworn it was a lie, and yet they'd found her anyway. I'd done my best and very worst to frighten her away, damning every Fae in the process, and it didn't matter. Amarantha still found her. My legs turned rubbery, and yet I somehow manage to keep my facial expression from appearing anything other than bored at the thought of her capture.

"I don't know anyone named Clare Beddor," Tamlin uttered, swallowing repeatedly, his love for her making him a crumbling mess.

"Yes, you've already said that, my love," she said, and moving to stand in front of him, she patted his cheek. "We shall wait and see if you say the same thing when she is brought before us."

"It is unfortunate that I have prisoners to deal with or else I would join you," I said, fearing that if I saw her I would be the one to drop to my knees and beg for her life.

"Oh, no," Amarantha said, clasping hold of Tamlin's hand, and the metal cuff around his ankle vanished. "That can wait until later. You need to be there to identify the girl if Tamlin refuses to do so."

"Of course," I said, plastering on a wicked grin. "I am, as always, at your service, my queen."

"Then lead the way, Rhysand," she said, gesturing toward the door with her free hand, giving my no other choice but to walk with my back to my two greatest enemies.


End file.
